FIREWOOD

[Billiebob]

We have a few new logging operations in play right now to keep our forests healthy.

Blister rust comes from an invasive fungus that can move from tree to tree through aerial spores and then can travel through the tree’s needles, down the branches, to the main trunk of the tree. At that point, everything above that section of the tree is dead. This logging operation is working to contain the fungus and reforest the area.


White pine blister rust: caused by a type of fungus called a rust that creeps down a pine tree's branches and into its trunk over the course of years which can be avoided by keeping firewood local to its native habitat.

There are many other diseases which kill our forests and we campers spread those diseases when we travel with firewood.

Please do not pack firewood, source firewood locally EVERY night.

 

[Billiebob]

Cut Firewood Where You Burn It - The Importance of Not Transporting Firewood

CUT FIREWOOD WHERE YOU BURN IT: The Importance of Not Transporting Firewood. Invasive bugs, parasites, fungi, diseases, and other pathogens can ruin entire forests. What harm can they cause, and what can you do to stop them? Read to find out!

www.logsplittersdirect.com

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[grubworm]

yeah, good point. i've been in several states where the parks and camp grounds had signs specifically telling everyone to use the packaged local wood...and all the packaged wood i've bought was marked that it was kiln dried, so they use local AND kiln dry it to make sure the spores and fungi are dead.

i take that seriously and even though i have a ton of local oak logs i turn at the house, i won't take it camping with me out of state. the packaged firewood is around $6 a bundle, so it is just too cheap and easy to buy at or near the camp location.

 

[ptgarcia]

Finding locally sourced firewood in southern California isn't easy. I'm one of the lucky few with a real fireplace (most cities around me have banned them) and its usually a chore finding firewood come fall, unless I want to pay $10 a cubic foot for "easy to light" crap from Home Depot.

 

[LostWoods]

Bringing in firewood is fine as long as it has the USDA insignia on it and it's kiln dried. Most reputable stores sell this kind of firewood and it's frequently mandatory on national and state forest land.

Downside is it doesn't last nearly as long but it does light very easily. I normally take a few bags of it with me then source longer burning wood around camp where possible.

 

[Road]

yeah, good point. i've been in several states where the parks and camp grounds had signs specifically telling everyone to use the packaged local wood...and all the packaged wood i've bought was marked that it was kiln dried, so they use local AND kiln dry it to make sure the spores and fungi are dead.

i take that seriously and even though i have a ton of local oak logs i turn at the house, i won't take it camping with me out of state. the packaged firewood is around $6 a bundle, so it is just too cheap and easy to buy at or near the camp location.

.

In some places it's even discouraged out-of-county!

Some places say "As a very general rule of thumb, 50 miles is too far, and 10 miles or less is best." The link below goes to a firewood map where you can select your state or province, or where you're going, for local wisdom.

Emerald Ash Borers, Gypsy Moths, Spruce Budworm (killing off Red Spruce in NH at alarming rate) different micro-organisms that cause one thing or another are sometimes detected in one part of a state but haven't infested the whole state.

The USDA will certify wood as kiln-dried and provide their seal for labeling, though the only place I've seen that regularly on firewood bundles east of the Rockies is around the Smoky Mtns. In many or all of the GSMNP campgrounds all bundles of firewood have to have the seal to bring it in, even if you can prove you bought your firewood down in Townsend 20-30 miles away. Not very well policed, though, in my experience.

I've heard campers brag about bringing locust and oak etc from home several states away: "What's it gonna hurt, we usually don't have any left to drag home, and it all gets burned" and "I inspected it and didn't see any bugs."

Bark and bits stay behind, both larvae and adults migrate to live trees around the site, and fungi and whatever else can be airborne in the time they are there. It's a pain in the ass for some, some of whom think they know better than agricultural officials or state botanists.

I agree, tempting as it is to bring wood from home or last camp in another state, it is always better to source your firewood where suggested.

Here's a great state-by-state interactive map from Don't Move Firewood with both Firewood Related Resources and Pest Related Resources for each US state, Canadian Province, and Mexico:

Firewood Map - Don't Move Firewood

Firewood rules, regulations, recommendations, and pests of concern are different throughout North America. Click on any state, country, or province on

www.dontmovefirewood.org

I hope there are guides like this for other continents, too.

edit: Just found this site, too, from Sustainable Resources Institute: Firewood Scout - only ten states, and no provinces, so far have listed vendors. Anyone know of other sources or apps that list this sort of thing?



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[Shokgoblr]

Here in PA it is Lanternflies and Ash borer's. The Ash borer is really bad. Don't forget about the hemlock blight.

 

[ptgarcia]

Thanks for the firewood map.

Near me bark beetle is trouble and killing the pines. I'm in a old citrus growing area and we have issues with non-native species attacking our orange and lemon trees, too.

 

[MidOH]

I think untreated pallet wood is ok to travel with. Look around your local industrial parks. Many will have a wasted pallet pile. But don't grab a good pallet from a stack. Those get reused. The wasted pile is always a messy pile.

HT is safe. MB is chem'd.

 

[huachuca]

As noted. we've also found many of the places we like to camp require firewood to be purchased locally and/or certified kiln dried or have banned campfires entirely. I both understand and agree with these policies but, in my experience, the quality of local wood is questionable at best and two bundles of the kiln dried product (about a day's use for us) often costs more than our campsite. These factors caused us to buy a Campfire-in-a-Can (propane campfire) a few years back and that's worked out well. No danger of transporting pests, easy to start or stop, no sour looks from neighbors when the smoke drifts into their campsite and a 20# propane tank will last about a week. I've yet to find anywhere it couldn't be used even when ground fires and charcoal were prohibited. It's grand daughter approved for s'mores and, if it's dark and you put it in a fire ring, it sorta kinda looks like a real campfire if you squint just a bit.

 

[JackA]

We are using CAMCO's Little Red Campfire it is compact, makes plenty of heat for early Spring camping and you do not have to deal with sourcing wood or smoke...

 

[Road]

.
I've used my Camp Chef propane fire ring all over the country; mostly for places out west with fire bans (no wood fires), though often in places that do allow wood fires but restrict to local wood or USDA certified kiln-dried (with large paper labels stating such).

Safer to use under my awning when I have side walls up, too, and gives off great heat. I've cooked on it, as well. I like their portable fire ring more than their others because it packs smaller in overall height and fits my packing plan well. I got a couple propane hose extensions, so I can run it from the 20# tank on my trailer tongue and have it out in front of my cooking counter, though not in the way of foot traffic.



I love it. It goes with me on every adventure.

The fire ring has collapsible legs that hold it up safely off the ground when using that fold under for packing in the heavy-duty cover. I kept the thick plastic bag the lava rock came in. I leave the rock in the ring when packing it away and just cover it with the bag when it has sufficiently cooled, usually when I'm packing up for the next stop.

The flame height is easily adjustable with the valve on the side of the fire ring.

Here's the packed size in comparison to a packed Skottle:


...


Easy to gather around, even under an awning.


I sometimes skewer some sausage or hot dogs on the double-pronged, extendable hot dog forks that came with it and place the fork in the crook of my camp table over the fire ring. Makes it easy to rotate and heat those dogs up.

..

 

[FindAReason]

And by source locally, they don't mean to strip desert washes bare of downed wood that took decades or centuries to accumulate so that you can have a fire for an hour.

LNT still applies despite what youtubers trying to show off chainsaws and feel cool on camera would have you believe.

 

[BigBlueOx_TRD]

We have a few new logging operations in play right now to keep our forests healthy.

Blister rust comes from an invasive fungus that can move from tree to tree through aerial spores and then can travel through the tree’s needles, down the branches, to the main trunk of the tree. At that point, everything above that section of the tree is dead. This logging operation is working to contain the fungus and reforest the area.


White pine blister rust: caused by a type of fungus called a rust that creeps down a pine tree's branches and into its trunk over the course of years which can be avoided by keeping firewood local to its native habitat.

There are many other diseases which kill our forests and we campers spread those diseases when we travel with firewood.

Please do not pack firewood, source firewood locally EVERY night.

I agree. Unless we travel to the Outer Banks, we typically don't take firewood with us - kinda hard to find on an island.

When we travel to VA, they don't allow out of state wood at any of the campgrounds and I'm pretty sure they don't technically allow it over state lines.

 

[huachuca]

As noted in a prior response, we don't transport firewood but now rely on a propane fire pit for the most part. However, this past weekend we camped at the USFS Powhatan campground in Pisgah National Forest. The grand kid wanted a 'real' fire one night so I broke down and purchased two bundles of firewood (ten total pieces for $8/bundle plus $3 more for kindling) from the concessionaire. Really disappointed to see such thievery at our Federal lands.

 

[pcstockton]

This is an easy one. Bring a chain saw. Get a cutting permit. Go to a US National forest. Set up camp.

Then cut up every "dead and down" tree around for the biggest fire ever!